Social networks have played various roles in human life from the past to the present. Humans have always been social creatures, so they have always tried to communicate with others, and most of their efforts have been successful. Initially, they could only use fire and smoke, but later paper and pen were added to their communication tools. Sending letters was sometimes slow and tedious, so a faster method had to be found. In the mid-1870s, the telephone was invented by Graham Bell, and human relationships were given new life.
Gradually, technological progress led to smarter human relationships. Messages were sent faster than before, resulting in fewer hassles in sending messages. With the advent of the internet, humans connected with each other on a larger scale. Now in the 21st century, these networks have an amazing impact on all aspects of human relationships. Join us in this article as we examine the short but bustling history of social networks.
The First Social Network
A social network refers to a website or application that allows users to create and share content and interact with other users, and runs on computers and mobile devices. When we search the history of social networks, we realize that initially, when mobile phones were not yet prevalent, computers played an important role in the expansion of social networks. At first, social networks were developed on computer browsers.
The first personal computer, which was very similar to today's computers, was built in 1973 by Xerox's research and development department. This computer included a vertical display screen, a strange mouse, and a keyboard for typing. With the spread of computers in the 1990s by Apple, the internet also expanded. If we want to define the internet, we must imagine a collection of interconnected computers that follow a specific method for global connection and communication. This specific method is called the Internet Protocol. As the internet expanded, the World Wide Web also grew, and the first web browser was run on Apple's NeXT computer.
Sites like Six Degrees and Friendster, email, and online chat sites were the first online structures that humans experienced on the web. Six Degrees was one of the early examples that is considered a grandfather of today's social networks. This site allowed online chatting and sending images for users to find new friends. The Six Degrees site was launched in 1997 and was popular until 2001. Another early example of social networks was Friendster, which created the ability to share photos, videos, and text, and the ability to make contact. Thus, modern humans were able to meet people who were practically impossible to meet before the advent of the internet.
Coinciding with the growth of computers, the first mobile phone was made in 1990. Bulky phones with heavy weight that bore no resemblance to today's smartphones. But the path of technology is always forward, so non-smart mobile phones gave way to smart iPhones. The first iPhone mobile, with the ability to use the internet network, was introduced to the market by Apple in 2007 and in less than a decade completely changed the form of digital communication. The iPhone had a browser, so social networks also made their way to mobile phones. Over several years, social networks expanded incredibly worldwide.
New Social Networks
So far in this article, we've learned that social networks have had a profound impact on all aspects of human life to date, and today's businesses rely on social networks for their survival. Next, we'll take a look at the history of some of today's most used social networks.
LinkedIn: A Social Network for Professionals
LinkedIn was first introduced in 2003. This social network was formed with the aim of connecting employers and job seekers and has become one of the most reliable online job search platforms to date. LinkedIn's website and mobile app had 875 million users as of October 2022, making it one of the world's most famous social networks that has transformed the lives of millions of people. Interestingly, men use LinkedIn 13.2 percent more than women.
Facebook's Launch in 2004
The Facebook social networking site started operating in 2004 only for Harvard University students. Later, Facebook expanded this social network. Access to Facebook was allowed for all people over 13 years old from 2006. Years later, Facebook created the Facebook mobile application, which was called Facebook Messenger. The Facebook social network, with about 3 billion users, was one of the most popular social networks in 2022.
Twitter: A Social Network for Shorter Messages
Twitter was launched in 2006 and subsequently became one of the most powerful social networks. Initially, this social network was built for sending short text messages, messages with a limit of 140 characters called tweets, but with user demand, the number of tweet characters increased to 280 characters. Twitter is one of the most popular messengers among celebrities and famous people. This media ranked sixteenth among the top social networks in 2022 with over 353 million users.
Pinterest: A Platform for Image Search
2010 was a good year for social networks. With the emergence of Pinterest and Instagram, the emphasis on sharing images and videos on social networks increased more than ever. According to the latest statistics from Statista, Pinterest has 445 million active users worldwide as of the third quarter of 2022. Pinterest allows its users to create an attractive showcase for their business by sharing images.
Instagram and Advertising
Instagram also arrived in the digital market in 2010. Instagram was an image-oriented media that was built focusing on sharing images and videos. This social network, with its remarkable growth over the following years, had a significant impact on the life, job, and relationships of today's humans. The latest statistics show that in 2022, more than 1.44 billion people were actively members of Instagram. These statistics indicate the importance of Instagram advertising for small businesses.
Telegram and Various Features
Telegram was launched in 2013 and in 2022, after 9 years of operation, it served more than 700 million users. Telegram has various features such as; groups, channels, bots, voice calls, video calls, instant link preview, video conferencing, and custom folders, but the main reason for Telegram's popularity is the creator company's strictness in maintaining users' privacy. Now Telegram has become one of the popular social networks through which more than 15 billion messages are sent daily.
There is no doubt that social media has completely changed and expanded various aspects of human life such as; job and relationships; more people meet each other through these programs, new jobs have been created, and even the advertising process has changed. The information recorded from users on social media has become one of the best resources for identifying target audiences for large and small companies. Billboards, TV channels, and radio channels alone no longer create sufficient interaction with the target audience, so activity on these social networks has become an inseparable part of the advertising process of large and small companies
.
Sources: http://statista.com http://online.maryville.edu http://statusbrew.com
Tarahi Online, with years of experience in professional advertising and sales on social networks, has led to customers' success on platforms and social networks. Contact us for consultation on advertising and more services.